IOC TO INVEST ₹1 LAKH CR TO BOOST REFINING CAPACITY OVER NEXT 4-5 YEARS
NEW DELHI: India’s top oil firm Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Friday said it will invest close to ₹1 lakh crore to raise its refining capacity by almost a third in the next 4-5 years as it saw fuel demand grow in near future.
Addressing the company’s annual meeting of shareholders, IOC chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said petrol demand is already back at pre-Covid levels and diesel—the most used fuel in the country—should return to normal levels by Diwali.
“Forecasts by various agencies see Indian fuel demand climbing to 400-450 million tonne by 2040 from the present 250 million tonne. This offers enough legroom for all forms of energy to co-exist,” he said.
To cater to that demand surge, IOC is aggressively rolling out new projects. “These translate into refining capacity expansion of over 25 million metric tonne per annum, including (subsidiary) CPCL, and an investment of close to ₹1 lakh crore,” he said.
IOC operates 11 refineries that convert crude oil into valued fuels such as petrol and diesel. These have a combined capacity of 81.2 million tonne.
It plans to raise the capacity of its Koyali refinery in Gujarat to 18 million tonne from the current 13.7 million tonne while the same at Panipat refinery in Haryana is planned to go up to 25 million tonne from the current 15 million tonne.
Expansion is also planned at Guwahati and Barauni refineries while a new plant is being built at the subsidiary, Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL).
These expansions will take IOC’s refining capacity to 106.7 million tonne. Vaidya said IOC is focusing on integrating current refining processes to yield more chemical products per barrel.
“This will intensify petrochemical and lubricant integration leading to a diversified product portfolio and attain profit maximisation.” “In fact, integration projects, like the upcoming Styrene Monomer Project at Panipat or the Lube Integration Project at Gujarat Refinery will also reduce India’s import dependence and strengthen the promise of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.